I was having trouble connecting to this story. I love Kit Rocha's books normally, so I'm not sure why I couldn't get into this. I may have to try again later.

I’ve seen summaries describing Deal with the Devil as Orphan Black meets post-apocalyptic Avengers and I would have to agree with that. Although this book is also way more hopeful than that comparison suggests.

If you’re a fan of found family, I’d definitely recommend picking this one up. I definitely fell in love with both Nina + her girls and Knox + his Devils. Plus the dialogue was A+ banter. The story was so well done, the adventure really allowed the reader to get to know the world without massive info dumps. Although I think it’s fair to warn you that there’s a very good chance you will immediately want the second book.

Deal with the Devil was the perfect mix of post-apocalyptic action with found family and romance. Plus, the series is called Mercenary Librarians. What else do you need to know?

*Disclaimer: I received a digital advance copy of this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Whatcha reading (link below):

I recently finished Kit Rocha’s Deal with the Devil (out July 28) ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) and enjoyed it. Sexy, exhilarating sci-fi road trip romance between two sets of found families (aka found family squared. They merge into a bigger found family and it’s so satisfying). I will say, it’s super weird to be reading dystopian fiction when our own reality is… * gestures at everything on fire. * There were some worldbuilding details that hit too close to home, and I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. Still, it’s a hell lot of fun and I’m already shipping the couples of future books in the series.

Review:

Oh, this is FUN! I had expected a sexy sci-fi/dystopian romance with intricate world-building and exhilarating adventure, and that's exactly what I got. Per the blurb, "Orphan Black meets the post-apocalyptic Avengers" is a very good description.

You might like this book if you like the following things:

- Found family! There are TWO sets of found families, so it's really like found family squared. Watching Nina and Knox's respective crews transform from reluctant allies to bantering comrades was my favorite part of the book.

He gestured to his men. “Rafe, Conall, and Gray.”

Dani flipped a knife from one hand to the other, then pointed the tip of the blade at each of them in turn. “Let me guess—muscle, tech, and bullets.”

Rafe quirked an eyebrow at her. “Charm, brains, and taciturn silences. But you were close.”

- That trope when the sunshine one infects the grumpy one with idealism. Even my cold, shriveled heart grows three sizes when cynics fall in love and want to be more productive members of their community. Nina, Maya, and Dani are already the bedrock of their Atlanta community. As "librarians" (I say in quotation marks because it's not what you're imagining), they provide information (books, music, etc) to a community in need and help them survive a post-solar flare dystopia. The Silver Devils are focused on survival after defecting from the Evil Corporation, but teaming up with the mercenary librarians soon leads to soul-searching and a new calling.

- Road trip romance! I mean, there's no "there's only one hotel room available so you have to share a bed" or "every stranger we encounter thinks we're in love" hijinks. But there is murder, professional cage-fighting, rescuing a town from bad guys, and lots of snark. That's practically the same thing, right?

“Fucking hell,” Maya groaned. “Just murder me, already. You know I’m going to remember every word of your second-rate villain monologue for the rest of my life?”

- Sex during a thunderstorm! This was advertised to me before reading the book, so I was pretty excited for it (what can I say, I'm a simple woman). What no one told me was that there would be sex after one MC bandages up the other MC after a fight. Squee! Again, I'm a simple woman with simple desires. Don't judge me.

- Per the blurb, there is a deception/betrayal premise. No spoilers as to what enfolds, but I was very satisfied by the length of time between Reveal of Deception and End of the Romance. In my opinion, deception/betrayal storylines work best when that length of time is LONG and the reader gets closure for groveling/forgiveness. I got that closure here.

- It was odd to read about the post-solar flare dystopian world-building details when our own reality is *gestures helplessly at my surroundings and the news.* The moment that felt REALLY uncomfortable is when the crew stops by an abandoned/ransacked movie theater. Someone says it's surreal to communally gather for a movie on a big screen (basically: why bother and go through all the trouble of having an entire building for a communal film experience when you can just watch a movie at home?), and I was like "OKAY THIS IS HITTING WAY TOO CLOSE TO HOME NOW!!!" There were lots of little moments like that, lolsob. I guess COVID-19 will keep entering my brain whenever I read dystopian fiction from now.

Lots of other thoughts, but I'll stop here. My main complaint: I wish we saw more of Nina's crew interacting with the Atlanta community and acting as the mercenary librarians. We hear a lot about WHAT they do and why it's so important, but we don't see it much in action (the book is mainly the road trip and then fighting/tricking bad guys). Hopefully we'll see more of those community interactions in the next book.

Disclaimer: I received a free e-ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I have interacted with the author on social media, but these are my honest opinions about the book.

For some reason, I expected this to be like Ilona Andrews books, even though it's not really the same genre. But surprise surprise, for once I was actually right! This book has the same blend of humour, cool world-building, badass heroine and steamy romance that makes IA books such a delight!

The story takes place in post-apocalyptic America which is basically a failed state. The world is divided between good parts which are under the Evil Corporate's control and the rest which are basically anarchy. Our main characters include one badass mercenary librarian *swoon* and one genetically engineered soldier *swoon harder*

Apart from those two, the main characters each have a gang of close friends. The banter and dynamic between them is really enjoyable to read. Also apparently each book in this series is about a different couple, which is great because that would keep the story and romances from becoming boring. I'm already invested in the main couple of the next book.

Sci-fi is usually a hard sell for me, but in this case I was really invested in this world, characters and their stories. I think the reason is that, stylistically it's a lot closer to urban fantasy than sci-fi. If you like uf, this will definitly work for you. And if you like sci-fi, then it's just a fast-paced, exciting, funny and romantic story. Either way, you should definitely give this one a chance.

Engaging, exciting, and extremely well done. This isn't my normal kind of read, because post-apocalypse fiction tends to be depressing for me. However, the concept was enough to tempt me. With a 'grumpy one and sunshiney one' trope at play, the story had a healthy vein of hope running through it.
I'll definitely want to read the next one.

Deal With the Devil

Deal with the Devil is the newest post-apocalyptic romance from Kit Rocha. This kicks off a new series which has the glorious title of “Mercenary Librarians.” The book is fantastic, exactly what I’ve come to expect from these authors; the adventure is great, the writing is rich and textured, the characters are real and relatable, and the sex is, as always, very hot.

<<cover>>

Kit Rocha are the writing duo from the Beyond series, which is set in the same world and has cage fights, bootlegging, a viciously strong sense of friendship and concept of found family, and hot, hot sex. There are also 9+ books in the Beyond series and its spinoff, Gideon’s Riders, which can make starting from the beginning daunting. I’ve read a couple of the books and loved them, but never had the time to get caught up. This new series is set in a different city within the same world but with a fresh cast of characters, giving me a chance to get in at the beginning.

The world in Deal With the Devil reminds me of the Bethesda game Fallout: New Vegas (the good expansions by Chris Avalon, less the main questline). The book is set in Atlanta in about 2060, after solar flares destroyed power systems and the Energy Wars tore the planet apart. People exist in hollowed out cities or small communities, surviving in the best ways they can. A few live free lives, but most are beholden in one way or another to the various corporations that have survived the world falling apart. In Atlanta, it’s the TechCorps that is responsible for most of the “order” in the world, but their kind of order comes with a price. You can buy seeds from them to grow your own food, but the seeds are designed to produce plants which have sterile seeds (meaning you can’t grow your own food next year). Much of the information from the pre-Flare world has been lost.

TechCorps conducts genetic experiments, creating super soldiers, clone clusters, and individuals with enhanced memory or intellectual abilities. Many young people join the Protectorate, the military arm of TechCorps, just to get a meal and a place to sleep. They also get trackers implanted, and their enhancements are designed to kill them without regular maintenance by TechCorps.

Nina is the leader of the mercenary librarians named in the series title. She lives outside of the TechCorps' enforced poverty, and has spent a significant amount of time and effort carving out a section of Atlanta that is as free of the corporation’s influence as possible. People grow plants that have useable seeds. They have a small clinic where people can get some medical treatment. Nina has created shelters for when the weather gets too hot or too cold. But most importantly, she, along with Dani and Maya, have gathered as much pre-Flare information as they can. They share it digitally with anyone who wants it, and they create printed copies for those who can pay for the paper and the binding.

So when Knox and his crew, former members of the Protectorate, need to get Nina on their side, they tempt her with a find that no librarian could pass up: a cache of information from the rogue Library of Congress. Nina’s and Knox’s crew will join forces to get to the cache and then split the profits from the find. Knox, however, has been hired to bring Nina to a particular location; his life, and the lives of his crew, are on the line.

Nina and Knox have instant heat, and their relationship is hot and heavy from the beginning. Their relationship progresses in a believable way; when a simple conversation will fix the problem, that conversation is had, and they move forward based on that conversation. When it takes more than a conversation to solve a painful betrayal, time passes in the narrative to allow healing before reconciliation can occur. Without that passage of time, the ultimate romantic resolution of this book never would have worked for me. I’m glad the authors were willing to give the story the space it needed even as they kept the plot as tight as a coiled spring.

The Beyond series dove hard into the concepts of chosen family; as a queer person, this is refreshing and powerful to see in a narrative. That concept has absolutely carried over into this new series, which I love. Nina, Dani, and Maya are absolutely family to each other; Knox, Gray, Raf, and Conall are their own tightly knit family. They take care of each other, check each other, and look out for each other.

At the same time, Deal with the Devil holds space for the ways that a family of origin can have a strong effect on a person’s life. Early on, we learn that Nina has lost both of her sisters. While she views Dani and Maya as sisters, the narrative is clear that this has not replaced what she lost when she lost her biological siblings. As an adopted kid, seeing that dichotomy embraced felt refreshing. Hard to read, painful to remember, and refreshing.

I love romance series where each book builds on characters that are introduced in a previous volume. The next Mercenary Librarians book is slated to be out next year, and I’m eager to see what is going to happen in Atlanta, who is going to fall in love, and if it keeps up with this level of quality, maybe I'll even brave the intimidation and check out Beyond..

I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
While I’m new to Kit Rocha’s work, I was still ridiculously pumped for Deal with the Devil, because of the series title. I mean, Mercenary Librarians?! YES, please! And Bree and Donna are the loveliest people ever on Twitter (Bree in particular for her advocacy of libraries in the wake of the Macmillan library embargo, which is now fortunately in the past…for now), contributing to the hype even more.

And this is…pretty good. It’s apparently set in the same post-apocalyptic world as their other, self published works, but you don’t have to be familiar with those to grasp the semantics of this one. I liked their imagination of what near-future crumbling America might look like, even though it is a bit surreal to read while the world is actually falling apart.

I flip flopped a bit on the romantic aspect, liking Nina as a strong female lead, but not really feeling overly invested in Knox, or the pairing of the two of them. There’s a lot about the physical/sexual reactions they have to each other, and I wanted a bit more emotional depth to their relationship.

However, I did like the team as a whole, and the “found family” aspect. And the way we occasionally got insights into different members’ thoughts, while having the majority of the book be centered on Knox and Nina, was well done, ensuring the book felt well balanced. I absolutely cannot wait to see where the follow-up books take them! This book is a fairly solid post apocalyptic romance, and one that I think will please veteran KR readers and new ones alike.

This review was originally posted on <a href="https://booksofmyheart.net/2020/07/23/deal-with-the-devil-by-kit-rocha/" target="_blank"> Books of My Heart</a>
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<i>Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i>

4.5 hearts

The start of the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/260403-mercenary-librarians" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em><strong>Mercenary Librarians</strong> </em></a>series is an action-packed, sexy ride which uplifts the heart. I didn't get too much of the librarian theme in <strong>Deal with the Devil</strong>. But I did love the smart, strategic and tactical way every action was planned using all the information they could get.  I loved the technology and the people who made it work for them like Conall and Maya.

Nina and Knox are the leaders of their teams.  We alternate between their points of view. They each feel responsibility, and try to figure out their best options. Neither has a great history; they have lost people and been on their own for awhile.

Nina has built quite the little group and a community where she lives. She is an altruistic idealist, believing in helping others as much as she can.  It's an homage to her lost sisters, Ava and Zoey. Knox broke his team free from TechnoCorps, and has his own wish to give tribute to his lost medic, Mace.

TechnoCorps is the greedy, wealthy corporate body that with their rich friends controls everything,  and takes everything. Knox went into their Special Forces to try to help people and ended up being in their death squad, the Protectorate. They loom over everyone. This premise of the greedy, evil, rich corporate group is everywhere these days, as well as great technology. Money and power always seem to corrupt.

I love how story was combined with amazing world-building and character development.  I felt I knew and liked each person on the teams, learning their style and sense of humor. I enjoyed watching them become friends as they allied to fight common enemies.   Knox and Nina's romance was interwoven with their battle to improve their community and fight evil. I can't wait for more next year in <strong>The Devil You Know</strong>.

Nina is the center of a small team of very deadly, very wanted women: herself, Dani, and Maya. Dani is a not-quite-retired assassin who cannot feel physical pain. Maya has perfect auditory recall and was once quite beloved of one of the evil corporations governing the world. Nina is the remaining third of a clone trio bred to be perfect warriors. Together they look after their neighborhood in Atlanta, doing their best to help those less well-suited to survival than themselves, which means occasionally dipping into criminal activity to fund their charitable activities.

Knox’s team represents one of those criminal activities. He is the captain of a corporate special squad that left their corporation, but will eventually perish without biological maintenance. He hires Nina to do something vague about the Rogue Library of Congress. Don’t worry if you can’t remember what, because it isn’t important. Honestly, for a series called Mercenary Librarians, there were disappointingly few libraries and librarians, although Nina’s team does run a print-on-demand and digital lending library for their neighborhood. The other members of his team are Gray, a mostly silent killer, Rafe, a charming giant, and Connal, their tech guy who needs a treatment soon or he will die. The remaining member of their team, Luna, has been kidnapped and that’s why he tells Nina he needs to hire her team: to get a macguffin with which to ransom Luna. Connal is the best.

This book reads a lot like James Cameron’s Dark Angel television series. Everyone is the best warrior ever, and super deadly and hot, and everyone is clearly being paired up with someone in the other team (except Connal, who I believe is gay). The one pairing that does get to have sex in this novel (I am positive you can guess which pair it is), has earth-shattering, no-one’s-ever-been-able-to-take-all-of-me sex following a patching up session. Most of the book is spent on the road, with a few pull-offs for supplies that offer opportunities for the two teams - especially the Devils - to develop further emotional bonds.

This is clearly setting up to be the first in a series wherein everyone gets their happily ever after with a member of the other group (again, except Connal, most likely), but it also feels like the author is unsure the rest of the series willactualy happen since some characters are introduced in this book which might have been better-suited to a later volume (aside from the handy resources they were able to contribute this time around). There were just a lot of plots in this book that were put off until the last quarter or so, and the rest was a sexy, snarky road trip.

I don’t think I’m going to seek out subsequent books in the series. Sexy genetically modified killers are nice, but I was really hoping for actual librarians and actual devils. That said, tt makes for a very good beach read and I wouldn’t have a hard time recommending it to folks who are fans of science fiction and romance, or of dystopian television dramas.

Mercenary librarians. What could be better? As a museum professional, I was taken in quickly by the swoony talk about file formats. Which, admittedly, is not the focus of the book. No, Knox and his Silver Devils (an elite unit gone rogue from a tech conglomerate) recruit Nina and her mercenary librarians to help them find something precious, but long lost. Oh, and everyone is technologically or genetically enhanced.

It's a post apocalyptic, forced proximity, road trip romance. It's romance, it's a quest, there's found family and lost family, there's thrilling heroics. Something for everyone.

Knox is attracted to Nina because she's dangerous. Their chemistry is very strong and believable. A good pairing to start the series off with. We also get chapters from the secondary characters perspective scattered throughout, and I am pretty excited to get into some of those pairings in future books.

The book lays a lot of groundwork for this universe, which seems to have a fair number of moving parts. And I'm very much looking forward to the series building on that groundwork as the series continues. I think there will be a lot of enjoyment in that as the series scaffolds.

Romance, adventure, dystopia. I'm here for it.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

From the moment I saw this book on social media I had it tagged as for my to be read file. Increasingly librarians feature in science fiction and fantasy either saving the world or guardians of knowledge - and as a librarian this is something I can get behind! The three woman team led by Nina in Deal with the Devil, are I would say, only loosely librarians however they are definitely information brokers with an enviable skill set. The setting is a post apocalyptic United States with civilization in chaos and a sharp divide between the haves and have nots.
The Silver Devils led by Knox are super soldiers who have broken away from their creators and who have been hired by a mysterious client to kidnap Nina. So far so good and the adventure begins. As may be expected once the two groups meet nothing goes quite as expected. The connection between Nina and Knox is palpable and their burgeoning romance forms the base for the narrative, however the connection between the teams is also explored.. This is a fun read and includes some very steamy scenes! I am looking forward to its sequel and of course I had to buy the t-shirt :)

I want to start this review with a huge thanks to Tor Books for providing me with an eARC via NetGalley! I’ve been super excited about this one since I found it while browsing NetGalley. I’m so glad I finally got out of a bit of a reading slump so I could read it!

The blurb mentioned two things that I really love: the tv show Orphan Black, and the books of Ilona Andrews. So how could I resist this one? I wanted to completely fall in love with this one since it seemed right up my alley, but that didn’t quite happen. Don’t get me wrong, it was still a hugely enjoyable read. But I think I went in with expectations of what it would be, and it ended up being something different.

The Good!
First things first, I love the science fiction aspect, and the found family aspect. Genetic manipulation, cloning, evil tech corporations? YES I love that stuff. I definitely wanted a LOT more of that. Maybe since this is a series, that will be explored in future books. And found family!! I mean, I think we all know I’m a sucker for found family. In this case, we got two!! Nina’s friends/crew, and then Knox’s crew. I loved reading about Nina, Maya, and Dani the most. I love that they’re all so different but have found such a close knit family with each other. Knox’s crew does also give off the found family vibes, but I felt that those characters were a little flat. They could have been fleshed out a lot more in my opinion.

The Meh?
The thing that threw me off was that this book was pretty heavy on the romance. I definitely expected some going in, but I guess I didn’t know to what level. The main romance is basically of equal importance to the rest of the plot, so if that’s not your thing then be aware! Additionally, I think that made me enjoy it a bit less because I just wasn’t convinced of Nina and Knox’s connection. I still enjoyed the romantic tension, but their connection just seemed physical to me so it was harder for me to buy into it.

I also wanted a LOT more of “mercenary librarian” idea!! That seems so cool! But we didn’t really get to see it in this book, since the plot of this one was basically a rescue mission for a kidnapped person. It was kind of teased at the beginning, but for a series with that as a title, I definitely want WAY more.

So overall, this was an entertaining read but unfortunately not a favorite! I still recommend it if you are looking for a quick, fun read.

I really liked this post-apocalyptic biotech action/romance and will want to read more in the series.

Nina and her friends, Maya and Dani, were raised under a program of clones and genetic modification. They each have special and unique skills, tactical strategies, fighting and assassination expertise, and retrievable memories of extensive info. These women were trained to be used as tools, and weapons, as might be directed by the powerful. Somehow along the way, Nina’s conscious helped her to escape with Maya and Dani. Now, in addition to protecting her team, the girls serve their community by providing food, treasured books, and more.

Knox is a cynical, battle-weary captain of a squad of supersoldiers widely known as the Silver Devils. Knox and his squad watched their handlers torture his medic to death. The remainder of the squad escaped the next chance they got. But they are living on borrowed time. The men were able to remove the trackers under their skin but the super strengths they have are based on supplements that are no longer available. They had hope that a specialist could tune their biometrics but she has been kidnapped. In order to ransom her, the Silver Devils need to team up with Nina and her team. Well… is it a team-up or a double-cross?

As the two teams travel to a distant target, there are natural tensions. Some are competitive issues but others are due to attempts to resist the sexual attraction, particularly between Nina and Knox. As the days and nights roll along the chemistry between them builds to a point of no resistance. Under Knox’s fiercely cold demeanor is a heart troubled by guilt and regrets. He admires Nina and thinks he could never be worthy of her caring nurture. But what will happen when they reach their destination and the true state of affairs is revealed?

I loved the strengths and vulnerabilities of the characters. There is plenty of tension and danger that kept me on edge. There were moments that required suspension of belief but I accepted that for the sake of the story. I enjoyed the enhanced skills, the action, the suspense, and the romance. I hope to read more in the series. I recommend this to those who enjoy futuristic, post-apocalyptic sci-fi with romance.

Source: NetGalley 2020.

I enjoy these stories set in a post apocalyptic America which scream romance in every word the author's pen.  The characters introduced in this series are charismatic and will capture reader's imaginations from the get go. The story is compelling and full of surprises at every turn; like me I know many readers will be clamoring for more, more, more.
Nina is ~ will horrors never cease "a leader" in Knox's words. Watching her in action is like poetry in motion. She might almost rival the super soldiers under Knox's commands or even Knox himself. Together they are unbeatable.  They came together from a position of necessity, along the way Knox developed a conscience but before he can come clean his subterfuge is exposed and now he and Nina are on opposing sides. Can they find a way to bridge the gap?
Knox and his team finally came to the end of the road with the protectorate which controls this part of the country. They thought they had managed to exit gracefully but danger surrounds them and it's going to get worse before it even has a remote chance of getting better. Knox has a hard lesson to learn that he is no longer the captain who can command his team. They are all free agents now who chose whether to follow his lead or not.
All the characters regardless of how they've been created, shaped, molded or tortured into being have hopes, dreams, desires outside of their lethal strengths.  This story is a great introduction to the series with non stop action and surprises that will have readers turning pages with bated breath. All is not as it appears especially given the glimpses of the dead team mate on Knox's team.
I am hooked and can't wait to see this series unfold.

This was one heck of a ride! Action, romance, and bad ass ladies? Hell yeah! This was a fun read and I had a good time reading this. My favorite aspect of the book would have to be the relationship between Nina, Dani, and Maya. I really loved their sisterly bonding and the friendship they share. The story switches POVs between multiple characters from both Nina's team and Knox's. Knox, aka the love interest, was an interesting character and yes I am not the biggest fan of insta-love but it was fine. I was definitely interested in Maya and Dani's possible love interest interactions though and can't wait to read more about them. The plot wraps up nicely and sets up for the next character's journey, which I can't wait to read. Overall I had fun reading this book and I am absolutely invested in the sisterly relationship these ladies share and can't wait to read more about their relationships in the future books!
* Thank you netgalley and Tor for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

It’s no secret that I’m a HUGE fan of Kit Rocha and this start to a new series is no exception, stacked to the brim with all the things to love about their previous books — epic worldbuilding, kickass women and the men who are smitten over them, a found family element that slowly bakes in over time, and hot, HOT romance. Once I started this I didn’t want to put it down, and I can already tell I’m going to be weak for the next book when it comes out. This is one you won’t want to miss if a post-apocalyptic world, badass ladies and a group of dishonored soldiers sounds anywhere near being up your alley.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

***4 Stars***

I’m a huge fan of both the Beyond series & the Gideon’s Riders, HUGE, so to hear that another series, set in the same post-flares, dystopian world but far from the borders of Eden and the Sectors, was coming had me all kinds of excited. But, being a fangirl, I did take note that this series was not going to be like the previous ones, so I prepared and I have to say that I ended up really enjoying this book. There was a bit of information overload, since we are dealing with so much ‘newness’, but it was necessary and after getting used to it I loved getting to know the characters and simply wanting more.

I have to say, I really liked Knox and Nina and found it interesting how similar they were and yet different. Both are protectors and leaders and yet one is more about taking care of as many as possible, while the other is more selective which made for some interesting interactions everytime they found themselves in each other’s orbit.

As for the evolution of their relationship from strangers to lovers...the journey was interesting and enjoyable. There isn’t much waxing poetic style romance going on here ~ which shouldn’t come as a surprise considering the situation they find themselves in ~ but there is a lot of finding themselves unable to stay away from each other and telling each other things that they didn’t necessarily mean to but couldn’t help themselves, which I actually enjoyed because it fit them perfectly. Both are just too pragmatic and hardened to be the lovey dovey type. I loved their flow and just how they got each other without trying too hard. The big ‘ole bump in their journey was laid out from the start, so it came as no surprise, but I loved how they worked it all out in the end.

This book was definitely more sci-fi/dystopian with romance added in, but it still had it’s smexy moments and it definitely had a lot of heart and humor. I truly enjoyed getting to know all of the characters ~ Gray and Dani are definitely the ones I’m most curious about ~ but they all fascinate me and have me looking forward to getting my hands on the next book in the series!

~ Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley & voluntarily reviewed ~

I adored this book. I read it back in March, but it came with strong wording, from NetGalley, that I could only review it two weeks before it was published. AND THEN THEY CHANGED THE PUBLICATION DATE! (Curse you COVID-19). Which means I couldn't tell anyone about this book on Goodreads until now! It takes place in the near future and it's people living in a Dystopia who are trying to do the right thing and make the world better, yay! The people in both groups are super competent at their jobs (Bonus!) and the world building is fantastic. I can't wait to read what happens next.

I definitely recommend this book. :D

<blockquote><b>Deal with the Devil is Orphan Black meets the post-apocalyptic Avengers by USA Today and New York Times bestselling author duo Kit Rocha.</b>

Nina is an information broker with a mission—she and her team of mercenary librarians use their knowledge to save the hopeless in a crumbling America.

Knox is the bitter, battle-weary captain of the Silver Devils. His squad of supersoldiers went AWOL to avoid slaughtering innocents, and now he's fighting to survive.

They’re on a deadly collision course, and the passion that flares between them only makes it more dangerous. They could burn down the world, destroying each other in the process…

Or they could do the impossible: team up.

This is the first book in a near-future science fiction series with elements of romance.</blockquote>

3.5 out of 5 stars.

When I watched <i>Pacific Rim</i> for the first time, the story confused the hell out of me at the beginning. Right up until the brown-haired white protagonist and his brown-haired white rival were on the screen at the same time because, as it turns out, I hadn’t realized they were two different actors playing two different characters and had been trying to parse the movie assuming they were the same character. (Yes, one of them was Australian and the other American. I feel really stupid for not noticing the accents.) But after that was straightened out, I enjoyed the movie.

This is roughly similar to my experience reading <i>Deal with the Devil</i>. On the surface you’d think I’d love it, and I thought I might when I requested it via NetGalley. The series is <i>Mercenary Librarians</i> and I am a librarian. I love mercenary romance. There are angsty supersoldiers in it and I Iove me an angsty supersoldier. There are proactive women, post-apocalyptic surroundings, a team romance setup, and all of this should have added up to something I adored, but it was...fine.

Much like <i>Pacific Rim</i> it took me a while to identify one issue: voice. A distinctive narrative voice is what I really love in a book, and <i>Deal with the Devil</i> just didn’t get there. The characters' dialogue sounded enough alike that I found myself having to consciously tag their names with their roles and periodically look back a page or two to check who was saying what again in order to distinguish between the four guys on one team and two of the three women on the other. (If you’re wondering: Dani and Nina. Maya was more of an individual.)

And, like <i>Pacific Rim</i>, somewhere between a third and half of the way into the book the characters started to distinguish themselves--possibly because Rocha began seeding chapters from those other characters' points of view--and it became easier to read.

Unlike <i>Pacific Rim</i>, it wasn't over-the-top enough for the concept. When you have POST-APOCALYTPIC MERCENARY LIBRARIAN ROMANCE as the elevator pitch, you kind of expect something to live up to that. I wasn't looking for <i>The Road Warrior,</i> but I think the aim should have been a bit closer to that than the original <i>Mad Max</i>, which is where it hit.

I admit I haven't read any of Rocha's other romances and maybe this is exactly what Rocha readers want. If not, then I assume, given the publisher, that it might have been an editorial decision to keep some of the usual romance traits and tropes but to pull back on the ridiculous ones and exaggerated characterization, so as to appeal to a new audience. If so, I think it missed the mark because it removes some of the charm that the best SF romances possess. If you forgive me another <i>Pacific Rim</i> metaphor: I was looking for the equivalent of the scene where a jaeger picks up a container ship and uses it as a club BECAUSE OF COURSE IT DOES and what I got was the version where that was edited out because someone complained that container ships are flexible so they don't get ripped apart while at sea and in reality it would have broken under its own weight.

Also there wasn't enough of the librarian part of <i>mercenary librarians</i>. Judging by the ending, this is an aspect they're working up to--you can consider this one the origin story, perhaps--but if I'm promised MERCENARY LIBRARIANS then by damn I'm expecting MERCENARY LIBRARIANS.

So there you have it. This sounds like I’m ripping it apart, and I don’t feel that poorly about the book, but I’m disappointed when I envision the book I was expecting, given the concept. I saw the publisher, I saw the genre, I saw the synopsis and I was hopeful that it would take the bits I love about the SF romance genre and elevate them, but...it’s completely fine. Readable, entertaining...fine.

You might not have the same problem that I do—I’m probably in a minority with my <i>Pacific Rim</i> troubles and inability to distinguish between brown-haired white men speaking in different accents after all—and I’ll still be recommending <i>Deal with the Devil</i> to readers looking for SF or mercenary romance because I think a lot of people will enjoy it, but it’s not my favorite book.

It’s totally fine. Three and a half out of five stars.

This wasn’t for me,I really hoping it would have been. I think the writing was good and if I had read this years ago I would have enjoyed it a lot more then I did. Serious fans of this author will enjoy.